XRAY - Model racing cars

The speed of Red Bulls RB12 at the Monaco GP has been hailed as absolutely unbelievable by the Sky Sports F1 pundits after the former champions outpaced Mercedes in Thursday practice. Living up to pre-race predictions the former world champions were poised to battle it out with Mercedes this weekend, Daniel Ricciardo dominated second practice to outpace Lewis Hamilton by a large six tenths of a second margin.Fresh from their first victory in 21 months at the Spanish GP after profiting from the first-lap collision between the two Mercedes drivers, Red Bull are using Renaults new engine on Ricciardos car, while the RB12 is well suited to the twisty street confines of Monaco. Standing on the inside of Monacos fearsome Swimming Pool section, which cars sweep through at around 230kph, Sky F1s Martin Brundle said: Absolutely unbelievable speed and confidence those two Red Bull drivers have got through here.And theyre braking later and taking more speed into the next right-hander, the exit of the Swimming Pool, as well for good measure.Absolutely unbelievable. It defies belief that they can carry that amount of speed into this Swimming Pool section. Practice Two timesheet - Top four Driver Team Lap time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:14.607 2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:15.213 3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:15.506 4. Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:15.571 The performance of the RB12 slightly later round the lap also caught the eye.We were standing on the outside of Rascasse, and they look very cool round there, said Johnny Herbert. The amount of speed they are able to carry into the corner and use the tyres almost as a brake and it seems to change direction so quickly.When is the Monaco GP on Sky?With a lot of cars, the back end flicks around the same time, but this is so stable. It looks very good.Mercedes engineers were seen taking a closer look at Ricciardos Red Bull as it was pushed into the garage at the end of Practice Two, with chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin remarking they look pretty quick.Nico Rosberg, third fastest in P2, concurred with that assessment.Its very simple: today they were faster than us, the championship leader admitted. So we need to dig into it and see if we can find a big chunk of lap time. Of course, we can still turn up our engine, but we dont have six tenths [worth] of turning up the engine.So definitely surprising how quick they were. We expected them to be there or thereabouts, but not that quick.Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Sky F1: It was a massively impressive session for Daniel. On both sets of tyres hes been quicker than Mercedes Of course, nobody knows what fuel levels, engine modes people are running on a Thursday in Monaco, but certainly a very positive start. Short runs and long runs look competitive.Armed with the one new engine Red Bull have access to this weekend, Ricciardo outpaced team-mate Max Verstappen, the winner at Barcelona, by nine tenths of a second - although suggested the new unit was worth just a little bit of additional lap time.Obviously weve got a good car around here as well, Ricciardo said. So its down to a little bit of both. Lets see how we go in qualifying, but certainly today Im happy. This track is certainly one where you can find a little bit more when you can push it on the limit.Ive always enjoyed it around here and felt more comfortable this afternoon in the balance. I think were in a pretty good window now. It depends what the track does on Saturday, but if it doesnt change much I dont think well be touching too much. Ive got some good confidence, which is the most important thing around here.Ricciardo led for the majority of the last race in Spain, but finished only fourth after Red Bull split their drivers strategies and Verstappen ended up winning the race on his debut for the team.If there was a way to react, Daniel has done it following Barcelona, said Paul di Resta. Hes nearly a second quicker than Verstappen, all bar three hundredths [of a second]. Hes going to try to take the spark out of Verstappen and make him think about his approach for Saturday.Watch the Monaco GP live on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway at 11.30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV. Also See: Ricciardo fastest from Hamilton WATCH: F1 Report Monaco GP When is Monaco on Sky F1? Monaco GP talking points . The 28-year-old from Rochester, Alta., was selected by the Redblacks from the Saskatchewan Roughriders roster in the 2013 CFL Expansion Draft. . - The Florida Panthers are getting some Army training to finish off their preparations for the season. http://www.bearsrookiestore.com/Bears-D ... on-Jersey/. - Florida State has suspended Jameis Winston for the entire game against Clemson on Saturday, extending its initial punishment of one half after the quarterback made offensive and vulgar comments about female anatomy earlier this week. .This one was bigger than most.Ben Roethlisberger and LeVeon Bell came up big in a game that Pittsburgh had to win Sunday, leading the Steelers to a 42-21 drubbing of the Cincinnati Bengals that left the AFC North race wide open. . Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-2 on Tuesday night.OAKLAND, Calif. - No matter the lineup or location, the San Antonio Spurs are rolling through the NBA again this spring, just the way they have for most of the last two decades. Especially against Golden State. Tony Parker had 20 points and five assists, Danny Green scored 18 points and the short-handed Spurs outlasted the Warriors 99-90 on Saturday night for their 13th straight victory. "I guess they believe in themselves and in the system, and they just keep working it. Other than that, I dont really know what to tell you," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Theyve just got great character. They never give in, and I think they like the challenge when guys are out. They seem to enjoy it." Tiago Splitter added 17 points and 14 rebounds as the league-leading Spurs (53-16) pulled away with an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter. San Antonio, riding its longest winning streak in seven years, is two games ahead of Oklahoma City for the top playoff seed in the Western Conference. The Spurs did it even while resting stars Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. They are 3-0 against Golden State this season, including two wins in Oakland without their regulars, after eliminating the Warriors in the second round of the playoffs last year. "Everybody stepped up," Parker said. "When somebodys not playing, its just other guys who will do it. And we trust each other." Stephen Curry scored 20 points to go with six assists and six rebounds, and Andrew Bogut grabbed 17 boards as the Warriors head into a five-day break on a sour note. The Warriors (44-27) had won three straight but missed a chance to move up in the playoff chase after Portland lost at Charlotte. Golden State is still in sixth place in the West, 1 1/2 games behind the Trail Blazers and 1 1/2 ahead of Dallas. San Antonio has won 51 of the past 59 meetings against the Warriors. "We made some mistakes. Its a disappointing loss. Itll make us better," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "Hopefully we see them down the road again, but theres a reason why theyre the best team in basketball." After wins at the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night and at Sacramento on Friday night, Popovich rested two of his veterans as he so often does throughout the NBAs marathon schedule. Duncan, Ginobili and Parker all sat out San Antonios 104-102 victory against the Warriors on Dec. 19. Jackson has been trying to take a similar approach dduring the seasons stretch run, though the wins are not always following.dddddddddddd Swingman Andre Iguodala was inactive for the third straight game with tendinitis in his right knee, and backup centre Jermaine ONeal returned after sitting out the previous two games. Even with all the lineup changes, Jackson saw the matchup against the Spurs as a "benchmark" for where his team stands. He joked before the game that the Spurs are like a bunch of "old dudes" at a recreational centre whipping a group of high school All-Americans because of their smarts and savvy. And thats just what it looked like at the start. The Spurs opened the game on a 22-7 run and held the lead most of the way. After the Warriors moved within four in the fourth quarter, Greens 3-pointer capped an 11-0 spurt that put San Antonio ahead 87-74. The Warriors made one last push before the Spurs quickly regrouped. Parker spun for a reverse layup and Green came back with another 3 to stretch San Antonios lead back to 94-82 with 2:18 left, sending most of the announced sellout crowd of 19,596 headed to the exits. "I couldnt be more proud of them," Popovich said. "Their effort with three games in four nights, this late in the season, and the back-to-back tonight, to finish off the three in four was real special because everyone came off the bench and they gave the effort they needed to give and Im just thrilled for them." The Spurs showed off all their best attributes through the game: smothering defence, precision passing and sharp shooting. The Warriors finally found their touch late in the second quarter, when they scored 10 straight points and sliced San Antonios lead to 50-47 at the half. The teams traded scores for most of the third quarter, and the Warriors briefly took a one-point lead. The Spurs put together another surge to go ahead 76-69 entering the fourth quarter, and held on for their longest winning streak since rolling off 13 in a row was from Feb. 13 to March 13, 2007. "You dont win 50-something odd games at this point and not have a good second unit," said ONeal, who had nine points and seven rebounds. "They really fly around." NOTES: Spurs reserve F Matt Bonner also sat out with a strained right calf. ... San Antonio (15-1) and Golden State (13-5) have the most wins in the NBA since the All-Star break. ... The Spurs and Warriors meet for the final time this season April 2 in San Antonio. ' ' '